Israeli Embassy Bombing 1994

Lord Hylton: asked her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will study the recent judgment in the Argentine of Judge J J Galeano concerning the bombing of Jewish and Israeli buildings in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994, to establish whether they throw light on the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in London in July 1994 and possible miscarriages of justice arising out of that violence.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Home Secretary's powers to investigate and refer alleged miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal came to an end on 31 March 1997 and were replaced by new powers vested in the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is an independent body. It is now responsible for the investigation and consideration of cases of alleged wrongful conviction or sentence and, if it decides certain criteria are met, will refer a case to the appropriate appellate court, which has to treat the referral as a fresh appeal. The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 gives the commission full powers to direct and supervise investigations, approve the appointment of officers to carry out investigations on its behalf and to gain access to documents and other relevant materials.
	It is open to those who were convicted of offences arising out of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in London in 1994, or anyone acting on their behalf, if they are of the opinion that the judgment in the Argentine court provides fresh evidence that might affect the safety of their convictions or reflects in any way on their cases, to make an application to the commission.

Young People who Sexually Abuse

The Earl of Listowel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many meetings the Secretary of State for the Home Department has had with his ministerial colleagues in the past two years with regard to children and young people who sexually abuse; and what plans he has to hold such meetings in future.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: My ministerial colleagues and I frequently meet to discuss the needs of young offenders. We are considering our approach to young people who sexually abuse.

Mr Justice Collins

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 17 March (HL1923), whether any Home Office civil servant or special adviser provided information to the Daily Mail about Mr Justice Collins or his decisions.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: No.

Criminal Justice System: Statutory Time Limits

Baroness Hilton of Eggardon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What decision has been made on the future of statutory time limits in the youth court.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced statutory time limits under which cases must be brought to court and dealt with within certain prescribed time limits. These have been piloted in youth courts in six areas in England and Wales and evaluated by independent researchers.
	Sections 43–45 of the 1998 Act amended Section 22 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to provide for the introduction of three sorts of statutory time limit (in addition to the statutory custody time limits which are already in force). The limits are an initial time limit of 36 days from arrest to first listing; an overall time limit of 99 days from first listing to start of trial; and a sentencing time limit of 29 days from conviction to sentence.
	The limits apply to all offences and start at the point of arrest. Whether the decision in a youth case is to reprimand, finally warn or charge, this has to be achieved within the 36-day period; after that time, the case cannot be prosecuted without an extension from the court. Once in court, the case must reach the point of trial within 99 days.
	The police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) can seek extensions of the initial or overall time limit but must satisfy the court that they have good and sufficient cause and that they have acted with due diligence. If these time limits are exceeded without an extension being granted, then the case must be discontinued and cannot be reinstituted unless fresh evidence comes to light. There is an appeal mechanism in relation to refusals of applications for the overall time limit but not the initial time limit.
	The evaluators recommended that statutory time limits should be implemented from a human rights perspective. They argued that delays in the youth court need to be curbed in terms of time limits rather than time targets because limits apply to each individual case rather than an average.
	The report recommends that before implementation there should be a right of appeal by the police against a refusal to extend the initial time limit pre-charge. This is in order to avoid victims and witnesses of crime falling foul of the system if the police fail to prepare a case on time. Primary legislation would be needed to implement this change. In addition, the report suggests removing the sentencing time limit altogether.
	The report also expresses the view that national roll-out would require significant funding, training and a review of courtroom and staff availability.
	We have carefully considered the final evaluation report and have consulted the agencies involved at national level.
	We have also given careful consideration to the priorities for the criminal justice system (CJS) following the spending review and the new national targets for the CJS. We have reviewed measures and targets which impact on performance across the board to ensure a cohesive approach.
	Although statutory time limits have been made to work in the pilot areas, concerns have been expressed by the criminal justice agencies at the burden which the limits impose on the system.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service consider that the limits have increased the administrative burden for the police and CPS in dealing with youth cases. They are also concerned that the limits might conflict with the priority being given to improving the quality and effectiveness of case preparation to reduce the number of ineffective trials.
	The overall view is that the process adds to bureaucracy—if extensions are needed, applications have to be made to the court and notice served on the defence; and the time limit has to be recalculated for periods unlawfully at large. While only a few cases were lost because extensions were not applied for or were refused, this would be much more of a problem nationally and the potential for loss of public confidence in the system would be that much greater. The impact on victims is of particular concern, especially if the case was perceived as being dropped because of a procedural technicality.
	We also consider that it is not necessary to have rigid statutory time limits in each and every case in order to deliver our aim of speedy and efficient preparation for trials or sentencing. In our view, custody time limits and the power of the courts to stay cases where delay amounts to an abuse of process are adequate legal safeguards against undue delay in bringing cases to trial.
	On balance, we consider that the benefits outlined by the final report are outweighed by the arguments put forward by the various agencies.
	Taken together with the many other measures that are being taken to improve case management in the criminal justice system, we have decided not to extend statutory time limits across England and Wales.
	Accordingly, regulations have been made to revoke statutory time limits in the pilot areas; these will be laid before the House shortly, to come into force on 22 April 2003.
	The focus on timeliness will continue. All CJS areas will be expected to work towards meeting and maintaining the Government's objective to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders—a target which has been achieved nationally for 15 consecutive months. And timeliness targets have been extended to encompass all youth court cases and other cases in the adult magistrates' courts and Crown Courts.
	The key to successful case management is inter-agency co-operation, with the police, prosecution and courts all playing their part as cases move through the system. We have given the youth courts the tools to monitor live cases and have provided funding for case progression officers. The local criminal justice board will monitor performance on timeliness and will report to the national board.
	The evaluation report is available to Members on the Home Office research website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds. Copies have been placed in the Library.

UK-USA Extradition Treaty

Lord Tomlinson: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to update the United Kingdom's bilaterial extradition treaty with the United States of America.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Home Secretary is today, together with US Attorney General, John Ashcroft, signing a new bilaterial extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
	The current UK-USA extradition treaty was agreed in 1972 and ratified in 1976, with supplementary provisions from 1986. It is outdated and can be significantly improved.
	The new treaty reflects best modern practice in extradition. In particular, it provides that any crime attracting a maximum sentence of 12 months' imprisonment or more in both the requesting and the requested state is extraditable rather than containing a list of offences which are extraditable, as the present treaty does. The advantage of that is that it encompasses offences such as computer related crime which did not exist when the 1972 treaty was drawn up.
	The new treaty brings the evidential rules for requests from the United States into line with those for European countries and simplifies the procedure for the authentication of documents.
	As with the existing treaty, the new treaty provides that in death penalty cases, extradition may be refused unless an assurance has been received that no death sentence will be carried out.
	The new treaty also maintains the present position that political motivation cannot be used to block extradition in the case of terrorist or other violent crimes.
	The treaty stipulates that neither nationality nor statutes of limitations will be a bar to extradition. The treaty also provides the standard speciality protection against onward extradition or surrender, and we have confirmed our understanding that this covers surrender to the International Criminal Court.
	Before the treaty can come into force it needs to be ratified by the United States Senate. It will be brought into force in the United Kingdom by Order in Council. Such an order will be made under the existing Extradition Act 1989 and will carry over when the Extradition Bill, which is curently before Parliament, comes into force. At that point the United States, like all of our extradition partners, will benefit from the new streamlined extradition procedures which the Bill seeks to put in place.
	The United States is one of our key extradition partners and there is a significant volume of extradition business between the two countries. It is therefore important that our bilaterial extradition treaty should be as effective as possible. I am pleased that it has been possible to reach agreement on the new treaty and that the Government have the opportunity to affirm their commitment to the closest possible co-operation in the fight against terrorism and other serious crime.

Hull: Ethnic and Religious Breakdown

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the ethnic and religious breakdown of the population of Hull.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from the National Statistician, Len Cook, dated 31 March 2003.
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Question asking what is the ethnic and religious breakdown of the population of Hull. (HL2275)
	The percentage distribution of ethnic group and religion for the population of Kingston upon Hull is shown in Tables KS06 and KS07 of the 2001 Census Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales, which was published on 13 February. A copy of this report was placed in the House of Lords Library and is freely available on the National Statistics website at:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6561.xls (Table KS06 Ethnic Group) and http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6563.xls (Table KS07 Religion).
	Ethnic Group
	Ninety-six per cent of the population of Kingston upon Hull are White British, and a further 1 per cent are classified as Other White. The remaining three per cent of the population comprise a mix of different ethnic groups.
	Religion
	There are 174,758 (almost 72 per cent) people in Kingston upon Hull who are Christians with just under 20 per cent of the population with no religion. The proportion of people with religions other than Christianity is very small with only 0.9 per cent of the population who are Muslims and even fewer who are Buddhist (0.2 per cent), Hindus (0.1 per cent), Jews (0.1 per cent), Sikhs (0.1 per cent) and who have other religions (0.2 per cent). Approximately 8 per cent of the population of Kingston upon Hull did not state a religion.
	I have attached copies of the relevant tables.
	
		Table KS06. Ethnic group -- All people England
		
			   Number/percentage of people in ethnic groups 
			   White Mixed 
			 Area All people British Irish Other White White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Other Mixed 
			 a b c d e f g h i 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of UA 243,589 234,716 761 2,462 340 338 453 488 
			   96.36 0.31 1.01 0.14 0.14 0.19 0.20 
		
	
	
		
			  Number/percentage of people in ethnic groups 
			  Asian or Asian Black Black or Black British Chinese or other ethnic group 
			 Area Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Caribbean African Other Black Chinese Other ethnic group 
			 a j k l m n o p q r 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of UA 613 509 387 398 155 640 77 749 503 
			  0.25 0.21 0.16 0.16 0.06 0.26 0.03 0.31 0.21 
		
	
	Data obtained from Census 2001 Key Statistics for local authorities for England and Wales
	
		Table KS07. Religion  -- All people England and Wales
		
			   Number/percentage of people stating religion as: 
			 Area All people Christian Buddhist Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh Other religions No religion Religion not stated 
			 a b c d e f g h i j k 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of UA 243,589 174,758 374 257 265 2,116 227 389 44,627 20,576 
			   71.74 0.15 0.11 0.11 0.87 0.09 0.16 18.32 8.45 
		
	
	Data obtained from Census 2001 Key Statistics for local authorities for England and Wales

EMU

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the statement made by M. Giscard d'Estaing, President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, in an interview with Le Monde on 14 March that, "last year Tony Blair's Government decided to organise a referendum on the euro in spring 2003 which would have created a new situation if it had been successful. Unfortunately, this option was destroyed by the Iraqi crisis", was based on information from Her Majesty's Government, which has not been made available to Parliament.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government have consistently made clear that an assessment of the five economic tests will be made within two years of the start of this Parliament. If, on the basis of the assessment, the Government take a decision to join EMU it will be put to a vote in Parliament and then to a referendum of the British people.

Armed Forces: Recruitment and Training

Lord Vivian: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How long after the recruitment to the services of Her Majesty's Armed Forces a new recruit begins training; and how many recruits currently have been waiting longer than three months to begin their training.

Lord Bach: The length of time between formal acceptance of the offer of employment in the Armed Forces and the start of training varies between the services and also depends upon the specific trade that the new recruit is entering. In the Naval Service an applicant who has passed the selection process will wait an average of up to 12 weeks before joining to commence training; in the Army, individuals do not normally have to wait more than six weeks; and the average waiting time for RAF recruits to commence training is three months for officers and six/eight weeks for airmen/airwomen.
	However, applicants for branches and trades which are either very popular or where only small numbers are required will wait longer before being able to enlist. At its most extreme example, the waiting list to join as a Royal Navy diver is currently three years and for some flying-related branches in the RN the period is 18 months. Similarly, successful Army applicants for some specialist trades are having to wait up to a year before a course becomes available.
	Applicants can join an alternative specialisation and apply to transfer at a later date. However, there are applicants who are prepared to wait to join in their preferred specialisation.
	Of the 1,310 attested applicants currently awaiting entry to the Naval Service, 860 have been waiting for more than three months. Comparative figures for the Army and the RAF are not held centrally, but even the 408 Army recruits whose initial training was temporarily deferred recently will not have to wait more than the normal six weeks.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the budgeted expenditure of the Defence Export Services Organisation for the current and coming financial years; who heads the organisation; and whether they will list its priority markets.

Lord Bach: The head of the Defence Export Services Organisation is Mr Alan Garwood. The net operating cost budget of the Defence Export Services Organisation for the current financial year is £13.715 million. Information for subsequent years is withheld under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Exemption 2c, information that would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion, projections and assumptions relating to internal policy analysis. I shall write to the noble Lord concerning priority markets and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Medical Education and Training Agency

Lord Burlison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA) will be established.

Lord Bach: In line with the recommendation of the Medical Quinquennial Review (MQR) which we announced on 11 April 2002, the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA) will be established on 1 April 2003. We will arrange for copies of the new agency's framework document, corporate plan and key targets for 2003–04 to be placed in the Library of both Houses. The chief executive for DMETA will be Rear Admiral Peter Kidner.
	On formation, the new agency will subsume the existing Defence Medical Training Organisation (DMTO). The Defence Secondary Care Agency (DSCA) will be disestablished on 31 March 2003, with its responsibilty for training and placement of service medical personnel transferring to DMETA. Responsibility for commissioning secondary care for service personnel will transfer to a new healthcare directorate within the Defence Medical Services Department (DMSD), formerly the Surgeon General's Department. The overseas hospitals in Cyprus and Gibraltar will transfer to the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) by 1 April 2005, but during the interim period DMSD will have responsibility.
	DMETA will make available nominated secondary care personnel for deployments and exercises and deliver appropriate medical, dental and military training and education to specified standards to meet the operational requirement. It will bring together defence medical education and training, including the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM), the Defence Deanery, the five Ministry of Defence Hospital Units and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court.
	Key targets have been set for 2003–04 to provide a balanced, challenging but achievable package covering the full range of DMETA's areas of business. These are:
	Defence Medical Education and Training Agency—Key Targets for Financial Year 2003–04
	Key Target 1—Deployable Personnel
	To meet 100 per cent of the Commander in Chiefs' requirement for secondary care personnel for operational deployments, major exercises and collective training.
	Key Target 2—Training Success (Quality and Quantity)
	(a) Academic. To achieve an overall academic success rate of 95 per cent across all training in the customer-approved annual agreed training requirement, based upon those students that successfully complete the required pre-course assessment where appropriate.
	(b) Military. Ensure that 80 per cent of all DMETA personnel, whose medical category permits, achieve their service's annual mandatory individual military training.
	Key Target 3—Academic Success (Timeliness)
	To maintain the index of average time taken for trainees to pass through to the end of Phase II training at less than 1.05.
	Key Target 4—Defence Systems Approach to Training
	Ensure the application of Defence Systems Approach to Training (DSAT) to a minimum of 65 per cent of DMETA course within financial year 2003–04 and thereafter achieve a year on year improvement of 15 per cent until a steady state of at least 95 per cent is achieved.
	Key Target 5—Efficiency
	Ensure the efficient rationalisation and usage of the current DMETA estate, reducing the agreed balance sheet value of the estate as at 1 April 2003 by at least 50 per cent by 2010, thereby reducing the cost of training.
	Defence Dental Agency (DDA)
	In respect of the Defence Dental Agency, the MQR recommended that it should continue in its present form except that it would lose some training functions to the new DMETA. It also recommended that the DDA should develop more challenging targets, including a new system of dental risk (DR) categorisation. This has now been achieved and the key targets for the DDA for 2003–04 are as follows:
	Defence Dental Agency—Key Targets for Financial Year 2003–04
	Key Target 1—The Operational Requirement
	To meet 100 per cent of the Commander in Chiefs' requirements for DDA personnel for operational deployments, major exercises and collective training.
	Key Target 2—Dental Risk
	To achieve 90 per cent of all service personnel in dental risk categories A and B by 31 March 2004.
	Key Target 3—Treatment Needs
	To reduce the treatment need index for each service to the following: RN at or below 400; Army at or below 600; RAF at or below 330 by 31 March 2004.
	Key Target 4—Military Training
	To ensure that 80 per cent of all DDA personnel, whose medical category permits, achieve their service's annual individual, mandatory, military training.

Broadband

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 11 March (WA 179), how that Answer relates to the commitment to deliver broadband technology that will allow "internet access at 10 times the present speed" across the European Union by 2005, as outlined in the Statement on the European Council in Barcelona by the Prime Minister on 18 March 2002.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Answer given on 11 March 2003 drew on the definition of broadband given by the Broadband Stakeholder Group. This definition includes technologies operating at 500–600kbps, which allow internet access at approximately 10 times the speed of a standard 56kbps dial-up modem.

Broadband

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What data transfer speed, expressed in terms of kbit/second, forms the basis for the commitment, outlined in the Statement on the European Council in Barcelona by the Prime Minister on 18 March 2002, to deliver broadband technology that will allow "internet access at 10 times the present speed" across the European Union by 2005.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister's Statement refers to the commonly available broadband products in the 500–600kbps range. These allow internet access at approximately 10 times the speed of a standard 56kbps dial-up modem.

Tourism and Leisure: Start-up Funding

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What start-up help and funding are available to small new businesses wishing to enter (a) the tourism market; and (b) the leisure industry.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Small Business Service (SBS) provides a range of support programmes designed to help small businesses in all sectors (including start-ups) to obtain finance. These include regional venture capital funds; the Phoenix Fund; and the Early Growth funding programme.
	Those wishing to start up a business in the tourism and leisure sectors, as in other sectors, may be eligible to apply for enterprise grants, regional selective assistance, Smart awards, help from the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme (SFLGS) and other forms of support. From 1 April an extension to the scope and eligibility for the SFLGS will increase the number of businesses, including within the tourism and leisure sectors, which can benefit from the scheme.
	In addition, SBS provides advisory support to start-up businesses through the network of business link operators. Business link services are either free or charged at affordable rates. People wanting to access support can contact their local business link operator via telephone on 0845 600 9006 or via the website www.businesslink.org.

BSE

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 22 May 2002 (WA 104), whether they will update the information in that Answer, in the same format, showing the number of cases of BSE confirmed in Britain each week since 10 May 2002, together with a moving total of cases for each week period.

Lord Whitty: The number of active and passive surveillance cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain during each week of 2002 and in the current year to 7 March and the moving annual totals of confirmed and reported cases for each 52-week period are shown below.
	
		The number of active and passive surveillance cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain during each week of 2002 and in the current year to 7 March, and the moving annual totals of confirmed and reported cases for each 52-week period
		
			 2002 2003 
			  Passive surveillance Active surveillance Reported Passive surveillance Active surveillance Reported 
			 Week No Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Running 52 week total Week No Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Running 52 week total 
			 1 0 751 0 261 1,207 1 0 513 0 593 883 
			 2 19 734 0 259 1,209 2 7 501 15 608 870 
			 3 22 742 0 259 1,208 3 2 481 10 618 857 
			 4 12 742 51 310 1,200 4 2 471 28 595 850 
			 5 2 733 21 331 1,201 5 4 473 7 581 835 
			 6 25 747 29 359 1,184 6 5 453 7 559 832 
			 7 15 731 30 385 1,185 7 6 444 4 533 819 
			 8 9 728 7 390 1,182 8 5 440 37 563 798 
			 9 17 733 14 402 1,174 9 6 429 5 554 787 
			 10 10 733 4 405 1,160 10 3 422 13 563 780 
			 11 16 743 29 433 1,151 
			 12 19 749 0 432 1,153 
			 13 12 756 34 466 1,146 
			 14 0 737 0 464 1,152 
			 15 26 753 13 474 1,154 
			 16 2 751 29 501 1,156 
			 17 20 758 0 501 1,162 
			 18 16 755 13 514 1,169 
			 19 7 749 8 519 1,162 
			 20 15 749 1 519 1,161 
			 21 7 740 12 531 1,158 
			 22 16 741 9 540 1,154 
			 23 0 732 1 541 1,135 
			 24 17 735 22 561 1,140 
			 25 9 729 4 565 1,139 
			 26 5 721 16 581 1,141 
			 27 0 704 0 581 1,141 
			 28 7 694 19 599 1,125 
			 29 1 685 0 599 1,108 
			 30 4 666 11 610 1,101 
			 31 4 663 7 617 1,083 
			 32 22 674 16 628 1,083 
			 33 9 647 9 637 1,059 
			 34 7 646 10 633 1,054 
			 35 5 648 5 632 1,051 
			 36 3 634 8 632 1,038 
			 37 8 631 4 636 1,034 
			 38 7 628 5 622 1,021 
			 39 7 605 19 635 1,003 
			 40 11 583 7 632 983 
			 41 6 577 5 616 975 
			 42 8 555 11 619 956 
			 43 9 549 2 596 945 
			 44 4 521 7 597 938 
			 45 13 522 18 600 944 
			 46 5 518 2 577 929 
			 47 13 520 12 586 911 
			 48 22 541 23 581 904 
			 49 3 519 31 606 898 
			 50 11 519 6 596 888 
			 51 5 512 9 593 884 
			 52 1 513 0 593 881 
		
	
	1. Confirmation of disease may be affected by delays in diagnosis at the laboratory or by administrative matters. It does not necessarily reflect the occurrence of disease.
	2. The totals for reported cases refer only to passive surveillance, ie the reporting of animals as clinical suspects. Cases identified by means of active surveillance are not reported as suspects and are therefore not included in these figures.

Disposal of Fallen Stock

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What system will be made available to farmers and others from 1 May 2003 for the disposal of fallen stock.

Lord Whitty: The collection and disposal industries advise that there is sufficient capacity within the existing infrastructure to deal with the estimated additional quantities of fallen stock, by incineration and/or rendering, arising from the ban on burial which comes into effect from 1 May. However, we are aware that the new rules will cause difficulties for some farmers and we have, since April of last year, been discussing with farmers and the disposal industry setting up a national fallen stock collection and disposal service. Although progress has been made on the operation of a scheme, we have not been able to reach an agreement on funding. Nevertheless, we are continuing our dialogue with the industry and plan to write shortly to individual farmers about the new rules.

Game Licences

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to complete their consideration of the implications of changing the system of game licences.

Lord Whitty: Considering the implications of changing the game licensing system is a substantial and complex task. At present the Government are therefore unable to give a firm timetable for the undertaking of such an assessment.

Tourism and Heritage

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What liaison there is between the regional development agencies and the regional tourist boards on (a) tourism and (b) heritage.

Baroness Blackstone: From 1 April 2003 the regional development agencies will play a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism. The regional tourist boards are their natural partners and will be funded by them at a level equivalent to current regional project funding received from the English Tourism Council for at least three years. Guidance has been issued to RDAs on how tourism should be covered in their corporate plans and regional economic strategies. This is being followed, including the development of regional sustainable tourism strategies, with which the RTBs are closely involved.
	Heritage sites play an important part in attracting visitors to all regions. The regional historic environment forums established by English Heritage will consider the links between heritage and the regional tourism agenda. Each forum will expect to work closely with the RDAs and RTBs in taking this forward.

North West: Regional Planning Guidance

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they intend to publish final changes to draft Regional Planning Guidance for the North West.

Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister has today published Regional Planning Guidance for the North West (RPG13).
	RPG13 sets out the spatial development strategy that encompasses proposals for the development of the region's economy, housing and transport infrastructure and other land uses. Within the terms of the strategy, priority is given to sustainable development and investment within the North West metropolitan area (especially the regional poles of Manchester/Salford and Liverpool), together with defined regeneration priority areas. RPG13 also sets out proposals for the conservation, management and enhancement of the region's natural and cultural environment.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is pleased that much of the vision, objectives and core strategy of RPG13 carries forward to a great extent what was proposed in the original draft RPG prepared by the North West Regional Assembly (NWRA). RPG13 reflects the effective working that was achieved between the NWRA, local authorities and other stakeholders, all of which have made valuable contributions to refine and enhance the original draft guidance through public consultation. It builds on the inclusive process for preparing RPG that the Government have put in place. Many of the comments received in response to the consultations carried out earlier have made a positive contribution to the overall strategy for sustainable development and have been taken on board.
	The North West Regional Assembly, in its role as the regional planning body, will work with partners, including the business community, to ensure its effective implementation, monitoring and review.

Housing

Lord Hardy of Wath: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To provide an update on plans to publish legislation in draft on housing as announced in the Queen's Speech.

Lord Rooker: The Government have today published as CM 5793 a draft Housing Bill for consultation. This aims to tackle some of the most pressing difficulties in private sector housing. The draft Bill will ensure action against unacceptably low housing standards, the impact bad landlords can have on some local communities and the stress in buying and selling a home. These proposals are part of our drive to deliver sustainable communities, as set out in the Deputy Prime Minister's long-term action programme Sustainable Communities: building for the future published in February this year.
	The draft Bill sets out specific legislation in five main areas:
	replacing the existing housing fitness standard with evidence-based housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) as a more effective basis for enforcement against unacceptable housing conditions;
	improving the controls on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), including a mandatory national licensing scheme, to tackle poor physical and management standards;
	giving local authorities powers to license all landlords in areas of low housing demand or similar areas where the growth and poor management of the private rented sector frustrates efforts to create sustainable communities;
	requiring anyone marketing a home to assemble a home information pack (HIP), so that the information needed by buyers and sellers is available when the property is marketed and abortive costs on the buyer are reduced;
	modernising the right to buy scheme by tackling profiteering and emphasising purchasers' responsibilities so that it contributes more effectively to the supply of affordable housing.
	There are additionally clauses introducing a new office of Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales to investigate complaints against registered social landlords in Wales. There are also proposals to give local authority landlords the flexibility to continue introductory tenancies by up to six months, adding to the armoury of measures to tackle anti-social behaviour by tenants.
	The consultation period will run until 9 June. The draft Bill, together with the explanatory notes, regulatory impact assessments and issues for consultation, has been published as a Command Paper and will also be available on the website for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Copies of all the consultation material have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The Government have also today published consultation documents on the home information pack, covering its contents and its applicability in areas of lowest housing demand. There will also be separate consultation on possible changes to the powers of the Housing Corporation and National Assembly for Wales to regulate registered social landlords.

National Archives

Lord Merlyn-Rees: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What key performance targets have been set for the National Archives executive agency for 2003–04.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: The following list sets out the key performance targets I have set for the National Archives for 2003–04.
	The National Archives
	Key Performance Indicators 2003–04 1
	Efficiency
	KPI 1—Unit costs of key activities.
	KPI 1A—Selecting and preserving the public records per metre: to ensure that the unit cost does not rise above £96.00.
	KPI 1B—Giving access onsite: to ensure that the unit cost per information transaction with customers onsite does not exceed £9.90.
	KPI 1C—Giving access online: to ensure that the unit cost per information transaction with customers online does not exceed £0.11.
	KPI 2—Backlog of records in departments reported as being over 30 years old and awaiting review: to reduce the backlog, assessed in January 2003 as 2,165 metres, by 247 metres.
	Quality of Service
	KPI 3—The achievement of public service standards:
	(A) to achieve the public service standard targets for the National Archives as follows:
	(i) to make newly opened records and their catalogues available to users in accordance with specified time targets;
	(ii) to answer 98.5 per cent of written correspondence within 10 working days;
	(iii) to deliver 90 per cent of records requested by users for consultation in the reading rooms in accordance with specified time targets;
	(iv) to supply 98.5 per cent of copy orders in accordance with the specified targets and standards;
	(v) to answer 85 per cent of telephone calls within 20 seconds;
	(vi) to keep 98.5 per cent of appointments which visitors have made with us within 10 minutes.
	(B) to carry out three onsite satisfaction surveys and to achieve assessments of good or excellent from 90 per cent of those expressing a view; to carry out three online satisfaction surveys and to achieve assessments of good or excellent from 80 per cent of those expressing a view.
	Income Generation
	KPI 4—To increase revenue generated by commercial activity to £1,000,000.
	Modernising Government
	KPI 5—Electronic Records Management:
	To support other government departments in achieving the government target for electronic records management by 2004 by:
	(i) monitoring progress in departments against milestones and reporting to the Lord Chancellor, the e-Government sub-group and departments every six months and to others as appropriate to the level of action required;
	(ii) targeting under-achieving departments and developing action plans to accelerate progress;
	(iii) delivering a programme of workshops to support the action plans.
	KPI 6—Electronic service delivery:
	To develop digital access to popular records so that 60,000 digital record images are delivered to customers.
	KPI 7—To raise an awareness of the NA's holdings among under-represented groups in our user profile by means of a rigorous social inclusion programme the chief components of which are:
	(i) to make available 150,000 images online in four galleries as part of the Moving Here project;
	(ii) to commence the first stage of the project to redesign PROCAT public interface screens in order to improve their usability, partly based on the finds of the usability evaluation exercise completed in 2002–03;
	(iii) to broaden the ethnic, cultural and social mix of school groups visiting the National Archives by organising 10 workshops in partnership with the Tower of London and Cross River Partnership.
	1 More information on these and other key targets is published in the corporate and business plans.

Central America: Diplomatic Representation

Baroness Turner of Camden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there will be a reorganisation of the United Kingdom's diplomatic representation in Central America.

Baroness Amos: Changing strategic priorities require the Foreign and Commonwealth Office constantly to adapt and amend its pattern of representation overseas. In order to free up resources to strengthen the UK's diplomatic network in other parts of the world now more critical for UK interests, Her Majesty's Government have decided to make the following adjustments to our diplomatic representation in Central America. With effect from mid-summer, the embassy in San Salvador will be closed. We intend to appoint an honorary consul and for HM Ambassador at Guatemala City to be simultaneously accredited to the Government of El Salvador. Later this year and early next year we intend to reorganise our representation in Honduras and Nicaragua. In each case, we propose to appoint a charge d'affaires. The ambassadors will at the same time be withdrawn, and HM Ambassador at Guatemala City will be simultaneously accredited to both capitals. The diplomatic representation in the other countries of the region will remain unchanged.

NHS Complaints Procedure

Baroness Golding: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current position in relation to reform to the NHS complaints procedure.

Baroness Andrews: We have published NHS complaints reform—making things right. It describes reforms to the NHS complaints procedure and sets out a programme to improve management of the whole complaints system, elements of which will be subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.
	The programme builds on the existing NHS complaint procedure, as well as wider initiatives to introduce operational improvements focused on: making the system more flexible so that there is a range of ways in which people can express concerns about the services they have received; improving the local resolution stage so that formal complaints are more likely to be resolved, reducing the need for them to escalate unnecessarily; radical reform to the independent review stage, subject to primary legislation—by placing responsibility for it with the new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI); and making sure information about complaints and their causes are an integral part of the system that assures safe, high quality care, which is constantly improving.
	We will achieve this through a combination of changes to the structure and operation of the complaints procedure itself and by recognising the place complaints management has in the system for improving services and the quality of patients' experience of healthcare.
	The need for primary legislation to establish CHAI means it will not be fully operational before April 2004. This dictates the timetable for comprehensive reform of the NHS complaints procedure as a whole. In the meantime, we will pursue supporting initiatives to bring about improvements in the general approach to complaints in the NHS and pave the way for the more substantive reforms in 2004.
	Copies of NHS complaints reform—making things right have been placed in the Library.

Children in Care: Education

Baroness Billingham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps have been taken to fulfil the commitment in the Department of Health's public service agreement to review the target for the education of children in care, in light of the Social Exclusion Unit project on that subject.

Baroness Andrews: The Department of Health's public service agreement (PSA), published July 2002, included a commitment to review the target on the education of children in care, in light of the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) project on that subject. Work on the SEU project is nearing completion, and we are now in a position to announce the new target, which is to improve life chances for children, including by substantially narrowing the gap between the educational attainment and participation of children in care and that of their peers by 2006.
	This target will have been achieved if, by 2006, outcomes for 11 year-olds in English and maths are at least 60 per cent as good as those of their peers; the proportion who become disengaged from education is reduced, so that no more than 10 per cent reach school-leaving age without having sat a General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) equivalent exam; and the proportion of those aged 16 who get qualifications equivalent to GCSEs graded A*–C has risen on average by four percentage points each year since 2002; and in all authorities at least 15 per cent of young people in care achieve this level of qualifications.
	The elements of the PSA target relating to the level of education, training and employment outcomes for care leavers aged 19, the proportion of children in care who are cautioned or convicted and the under-18 conception rate remain unchanged.
	In developing the target, the Secretary of State for Health has been keen to encourage action to support attainment by all children in care. This includes younger children, those who are able and have the potential to achieve at a high level and those with difficulties who need support to remain engaged with education at all.
	The Secretary of State therefore welcomes the SEU's proposal that, as part of the existing planning process, individual education targets should be set for all children in care and that local authorities should monitor both the appropriateness and the achievement of targets by children in care. We will be consulting stakeholders on how best to achieve this.
	In order that the target reflects the influence of the care system on attainment, it will apply only to children who have been in care for one year or more. Nonetheless, promoting the attainment of children who spend a shorter time in care is important. The Secretary of State for Education has therefore agreed to put in place arrangements to analyse data from pupil level annual school census in order to improve our understanding of outcomes for those young people who have spent any time in care. The results of this analysis will be to inform the development of future policy.
	Copies of the technical note accompanying the new PSA target have been placed in the Library.

Interception of Communications Commissioner

Baroness Golding: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Interception of Communications Commissioner will be reappointed under Section 57(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: In accordance with Section 57(1) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, after consultation with the Foreign, Home and Northern Ireland Secretaries and the Scottish First Minister, the Prime Minister has decided to re-appoint Sir Swinton Thomas as the Interception of Communications Commissioner from 11 April 2003 to 10 April 2006.
	The Prime Minister is delighted that Sir Swinton Thomas has agreed to continue to serve as the Interception of Communications Commissioner.

M11: Litter

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will arrange for the litter to be removed from the verges of the M11 motorway between the A406 and the M25; and whether they will take steps to keep this section of the road clean in the future.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Litter on the motorway network is cleared on a regular basis and was removed from this section of the M11 as recently as February this year. Litter will continue to be removed from this section in accordance with current policy. The Highways Agency requires its contractors for this area to carry out frequent inspections, and debris that could present a hazard to traffic is removed as a matter of priority. Other litter is removed regularly, having regard to the safety of the operatives who have to clear it.

Life Satisfaction

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, following the report of the Strategy Unit Life Satisfaction: the state of knowledge and implications for government published in December 2002, they have now adopted a policy definition of "life satisfaction".

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The Strategy Unit published the analytical discussion paper Life Satisfaction: the state of knowledge and implications for government to synthesise the relevant data, evidence and research. It is not a statement of government policy.
	Nor does the report adopt a preferred policy definition for life satisfaction. Instead it reviews the various approaches in the literature.
	The measure of life satisfaction used most widely by researchers and reported in the paper is the answer to questions such as: "All things considered, how satisfied are you with life as a whole?" Respondents then either answer "very", "fairly" or "not very" satisfied or grade their satisfaction on a scale of one-to-10.

Life Satisfaction

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they agree with the conclusion of the Strategy Unit in its report Life Satisfaction: the state of knowledge and implications for government, published in December 2002, that "there is a case for state intervention to boost life satisfaction".

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The Strategy Unit published the analytical paper Life Satisfaction: the state of knowledge and implications for government to synthesise the relevant data, evidence and research on the subject. It is not a statement of government policy.
	The aim of the paper was to stimulate discussion. The Strategy Unit will be considering comments on the paper both from around Whitehall and the general public.

M1, Junction 19

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the cost of the proposed new junction layout for Junction 19 on the M1 motorway; what is the basis for demonstrating value for money for this scheme; how many minutes delay per annum they estimate the new layout will save; and what are the values of money per minute or delay saved used to assess the benefits, separately for (a) cars and (b) heavy goods vehicles.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the noble Lord.
	Letter from the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, dated 31 March 2003.
	The Minister of State, Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the cost and value for money of the proposed new junction at Junction 19 on the M1 Motorway.
	The current estimated cost for this scheme is £100 million, including VAT.
	Value for money was assessed using the Department for Transport's standard cost benefit analysis tool TUBA (Transport Users Benefit Appraisal) which includes calculation of user benefits and public and private sector transport provider impacts. The economic appraisal shows that the proposed scheme would provide significant journey time benefits to road users and reduced operating costs for both private and heavy goods vehicles.
	The time-savings in vehicle hours for the 3 simulation years that were modelled in the appraisal are:
	Year 2006 99,762 vehicle hours
	Year 2011 322,392 vehicle hours
	Year 2021 1,035,972 vehicle hours.
	I attach a schedule showing the calculated annualised time savings in vehicle hours and value of time calculations for cars and heavy goods vehicles. You will appreciate that scheme development is at an early stage and these are preliminary figures which are subject to change.
	I hope this is helpful. If you would like any further information, John Dutson, the Agency's Project Manager for the M1 Junction 19 scheme, would be pleased to help. He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8361.